An ell (from Proto-Germanic *alinō, cognate with Latin ulna)[1] is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand).

Later usage through the 19th century refers to several longer units,[2][3] some of which are thought to derive from a "double ell".

Although the exact length was never defined in English law, standards were kept; the brass ell examined at the Exchequer by Graham in the 1740s had been in use "since the time of Queen Elizabeth".

The Ell Shop (1757) in Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross (National Trust for Scotland), is so called from the 18th-century iron ell-stick attached to one corner, once used to measure cloth and other commodities in the adjacent market-place.

The shaft of the 17th-century Kincardine mercat cross stands in the square of Fettercairn, and is notched to show the measurements of an ell.

Halldór Laxness described Örvar-Oddr as twelve Danish ells tall in Independent People, Part II, "Of the World".